Detachable uppers for footwear



April 8, 1969 M. SACHS DETACHABLE UPPERS FOR FOOTWEAR Original Filed Dec.

April 8, 1969 M. SACHS DETACHABLE UPPERS FOR FOOTWEAR Sheet A? of4 Original Filed Dec. 12, 1966 April 8, 1969 M. SACHS 3,436,844

DETACHABLE UPPERS FOR FOOTWEAR Original Filed Dec. 12, 1966 Sheet 3 of4 April 8, 1969 M. SACHS DETACHABLE UPPERS FOR FOOTWEAR Sheet 4 of 4 Original Filed Dec.

JNVENTOR MAXWELL SACHS ATTORNEY United States Patent 3,436,844 DETAC'HABLE UPPERS FOR FOOTWEAR Maxwell Sachs, 887 W. Roxbury Parkway, Chestnut Hill, Mass. 02167 Continuation of applications Ser. No. 601,216, and Ser.

No. 601,217, Dec. 12, 1966, This application Apr. 30,

1968, Ser. No. 734,830

Int. Cl. A43b 23/00 US. Cl. 36-25 29 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE Footwear upper section detachably attached to the sole, slidable, resilient, and adjustable features, attaching structure, attaching and covering sole layer, with resilient characteristics.

My invention pertains to footwear and to parts thereof, including sole and upper sections, and means for imparting adjustability so as to afford improvements in fit and appearance as well as to provide convenience and adaptability in use. The present application is a continuation of my co-pending applications, Ser. Nos. 601,216 and 601,217, filed Dec. 12, 1966. The present application is a continuation-in-part of my applications as follows: Ser. No. 601,215, filed Dec. 12, 1966; Ser. Nos. 562,051, 562,056, and 562,053, filed June 13, 1966; Ser. No. 417,- 686, filed Dec. 11, 1964; Ser. No. 414,159, filed Nov. 27, 1964; Ser. No. 399,269, filed Sept. 25, 1964; Ser. Nos. 306,418 and 306,416, filed Aug. 30, 1963; Ser. No. 284,- 288, filed May 5, 1963; Ser. No. 137,945, filed Sept. 18, 1961; Ser. No. 129,891, filed Aug. 7, 1961; Ser. No. 37,907, filed June 22, 1960; Ser. No. 755,156, filed Aug. 15, 1958; and Ser. No. 679,887, filed Aug. 23, 1957.

In accordance with the invention, these general objectives are obtained by providing an article of footwear in which the relative positions of sole and upper portions are variable. Sliding movement, resilient means, connecting sections which are variable in length, and detachable connections are employed.

The features of my invention apply to footwear of every kind. Details, such as the construction of the sole, can vary. For instance, a sole may have a single layer in some footwear while in other footwear a sole may consist of an outersole, innersole, shank tuck, and heel tuck all cemented together. My invention applies to all types.

The term resilient, as used herein, pertains to any type of resilient element, including elastic fabrics and metal and plastic springs and their functional equivalents.

In the accompanying drawings, there are shown illustrative embodiments of the invention from which these and other of its objectives, novel features, and advantages will be apparent.

In the drawings:

FIGURE 1 is a top plan view of a shoe in accordance with the invention,

FIGURE 2 is a partly sectioned side view thereof,

FIGURE 3 is a side elevation of a heel assembly having an upper section,

FIGURE 4 is a top plan view of a shoe in accordance with another embodiment of the invention,

FIGURE 5 is a partly sectioned side view thereof,

FIGURE 6 is a fragmentary top plan view of the sole of the shoe illustrated by FIGURES 4 and 5,

FIGURE 7 is a longitudinal section thereof,

FIGURE 8 is a fragmentary side view of footwear in accordance with yet another embodiment of the invention,

FIGURE 9 is a top plan view of the heel upper section shown in FIGURES 4 and 5,

FIGURE 10 is a like view of a modification thereof, FIGURE 11 is a perspective view of an attaching hook, FIGURE 12 is a like view of a socket,

FIGURE 13 is an elevational view of a socket arrangement providing for adjustments of the position of rest of a part attached thereto, and

FIGURE 14 is a top plan view of a socket having a resilient member,

FIGURE 15 shows a fragmentary top plan view of a rear sole portion with two sockets recessed therein,

FIGURE 16 is a section taken approximately along the line 1616 of FIGURE 15,

FIGURE 17 shows a fragmentary top view of the sole of FIGURE 15 with a rear section of upper detachably attached, and a fragmentary view of the rear of a cover section with the top layer turned back to disclose the attaching part,

FIGURE 18 shows a perspective view of the upper section and cover section of FIGURE 17 with a connection between the attaching parts of each.

The shoe illustrated by FIGURES 1 and 2 consists of a generally indicated sole 20 to which a heel 21 and a vamp 22 are attached. The sole 20 is shown as including a shank tuck 23 extending from the rear of the shoe to the front of the shank and an additional layer or shank tuck 24 and has sockets 25 and 26, the former in the shank area and the latter in the heel area. The socket 25 has an elongated, forwardly opening slot 25A and the socket 26 has an elongated, rearwardly opening slot 26A. The shank tuck 23 is a customary shank stiffening layer which, in the old shoe making processes, is usually cemented to the remainder of the inner sole assembly, and attached before lasting, while the shank tuck 24 would ordinarily be attached as by cementing, together with the sockets 25 and 26, after the shoe has been lasted. In newer procedures, as in string-lasting, the entire innersole assembly would be cemented into the shoe after lasting.

A rear part upper assembly consists of a heel section 27 having a closed bottom 28 to the undersurface of the forward margin of which is secured, as by cementing, a section 29 of elastic webbing or gorging. A forward tab section 30 of inelastic material, attached to the front margin of the goring section 29, is provided with a downwardly disposed stud 31 for attachment to the socket 25. A filler layer 32, secured to the undersurface of the bottom 28 of the upper section 27 in abutting relation to the rear edge of the goring section 219', has a downwardly disposed stud 33 for attachment to the socket 26.

It will be noted that the rear part upper assembly is shown as so dimensioned that the goring section 29" yieldably maintains the studs 31 and 33 against the closed ends of the socket slots 25A and 26A, respectively, while enabling the heel section 27 to have a substantial range of sliding movement relatively to the heel section of the sole rearwardly from its position of rest, the slot 26A being so designed and so dimentioned in length as to permit the heel section 27 to slide while still held in attachment to the socket 26. The rearward sliding is particularly advantageous when the foot is getting into or out of the shoe.

The sockets 25 and 26 have marginal flanges 25B and 26B, respectively, anchored by the covering layer 24. The covering layer 24 has apertures 34 and 35 dimensioned to expose the full lengths of the socket slots 25A and 2513, respectively, and to provide space forwardly of their open ends to facilitate the entry of the appropriate one of the studs. If apertures 34 and 35 were dimensioned so as to terminate flush with the open ends of the slots 25A and 26A, respectively, the attachment would be a non-detachable type. Detachability is a convenience, but not a necessary feature of the invention.

The shoe illustrated by FIGURES 4 and 5 has a generally indicated sole 36 provided with a heel 37 and a vamp 38. The sole 36 includes a shank tuck 39 and an additional layer of shank tuck 40- and has a socket 41 in its shank area and a pair of sockets 42 and 43 in its heel area. The socket 41 has a forwardly opening, elongated slot 41A, the socket 42 has a rearwardly opening elongated slot 42A, and the socket 43 which is spaced rearwardly of the socket 42, has a forwardly opening slot 43A, also elongated.

A rear part upper assembly, see also FIGURE 9, consists of a heel section 44 having an inturned bottom flange 45 divided at the rear by a notch 46. A length of elastic tape 47 is attached to the undersurface of each front end of the flange 45 with the tape 47 extending forwardly and inwardly towards each other and secured in converging relationship, to a connector 48. A buckle 49, the details of which may best be seen in FIGURE ll, is dimensioned for entry into the slot 41A and includes a hook 50 extending downwardly and to each side. The buckle 49 is shown as having an integral crossed barred section 51. A forwardly extending ribbon or tape 52 is attached to the connector 48 and is threaded through the buckle 49 to permit its effective length to be adjusted as desired and the ribbon or tape to be locked in place. Other types of length-adjusting buckles may be used. A transverse elastic strip 45A interconnects the flanges 45 adjacent the notch 46 and is provided with a downwardly disposed stud 53 for slidable entry into the socket 43. The elastic strip facilitates pressing down the stud when attaching to a socket. It is not necessary, however, that the strip be elastic.

When the hook 50 is caught within the socket 41 and the stud 53 has been entered in the socket 43, the heel upper section 44 has a substantial range of sliding movement relatively to the heel area of the sole 36 rearwardly from its position of rest against the resilient opposition of the elastic tapes 47. In FIGURES 4 and 5, the attaching stud 53 is shown to be centrally located lengthwise in the slot 43A. This position of rest can be varied by adjusting the length of tape 52. The closed rear end of the socket 43 serves, as would the closed portion of the sole at that rear end, to prevent the attaching stud or hook from being accidentally pushed out of the socket rearwardly by the foot.

The sockets 41 and 42 are of the type illustrated in FIGURE 12, and their anchoring flanges, and the end wall of each socket extending downwardly below the plane of the anchoring flanges, are indicated by the suflix addition B and C, respectively. The socket 43 is of a similar type except that its end wall does not extend downwardly so far. The stud 53 is shallow to avoid interference with heel nails. Each socket is seated in an aperture in the tuck 40* and is anchored by the engagement of the tuck 40 with its flanges, which are resting on the tuck 39. The aperture for the socket 41 is indicated at 54 and that for the socket 42 at 55. The tuck 40 is provided with registering apertures '56 and 57 and the apertures provide space to permit access to the open ends of each socket slot.

A cover member includes a section of inelastic material 58 secured to the fore part of the sole 36, a heel section 58A also of inelastic material, and an intermediate section of elastic goring 59. The forward edge of the elastic section 59 is secured, as by cementing, to the undersurface of the section 58 and the rearward edge of the elastic section 59 is secured to the heel section 58A. A tape 60 and a transverse strip 61 are interposed and anchored between the rear edge of the elastic section 59 and the forward edge of the heel section 58A. The tape 60 is connected to the buckle 62 which will not be further detailed as it is identical to that shown in FIGURE 11. In order to provide additional depth for the downwardly extending parts of the buckles 51 and 62, the tuck 39 is provided with apertures 63 and 64 to accommodate them, and the tuck 46 has slightly longer apertures 65 and 66 overlying the apertures 63 and 64, respectively. In addition, a filler layer 67, secured to the undersurface of the section 59 has a tape-accommodating aperture 68.

After the heel section 44 is attached the hook part of the buckle 62 of the cover member is caught in the socket 42, exposed within the heel section 44, after the effective length of the tape 60 has been suitable adjusted. This enables the lengthwise portion of the heel section 58A of the cover layer to be adjustable. When the adjustment results in an elastic tension strong enough to exert a flexing pull on the sole, it helps to minimize any upward strain by the foot on the heel upper section 44. Since the tape 60 at the rear attaching end of the cover member is narrow and is separated at the attaching position from the wider covering part, visibility and ease of attachability are facilitated, as is the use of a desirable type of narrow adjusting buckle and the attaining of a desirable amount of adjusting range. In addition, it enables the socket 42 and the buckle 62 to be depressed sufliciently to avoid being felt by the foot, without distorting the wider covering part.

In the embodiment of the invention illustrated by FIG- URE 8, a fragment of the sole is indicated at 69' as is a fragment of a vamp 70. The rear part upper assembly may be identical, except as hereinafter noted, to that shown in FIGURE 9 but is corresponding parts are distinguished by the suflix addition A.

The heel upper section 44A has a strap 71 pivotably connected to each of its sides by studs 72 and each strap 71 includes an elastic section 71A connecting it to a tape 71B looped through a buckle 73 to enable its elfective length to be adjusted as desired and having a stud 74 at its other end which may be snapped into a socket 75 with which each side of the vamp 70 is provided or into a loop 76 attached to the sole 69, one on each side thereof. The position and construction of the elastic section as shown is not intended to limit the elastic section to the particular construction or position shown.

The rear upper assembly shown in FIGURE 10 is generally similar to that shown in FIGURE 9. The heel sec tion 77 has a cut out bottom 78 providing a large central aperture 79. The rear portion of the bottom 78 is provided with a depending stud 80. An elastic section 81 is secured to the front of the bottom 78 centrally thereof and is connected to the buckle 82 by a length of tape 83. The buckle 82 may be identical to the buckle 49 so that it is not here detailed.

While the position of rest of the heel part upper section, in the embodiment of the invention illustrated by FIGURES 4 and 5 may be varied by varying the effective length of the tape 52, in the case of the embodiment of the invention illustrated by FIGURES 1 and 2, the socket arrangement shown in FIGURE 13 may be used. In that arrangement, two aligned sockets 84 and 85 are employed with the open end of the slot 84A disposed towards but spaced from the open end of the slot 85A. The sockets are of the same type as the sockets 41 and 42, and their flanges and end walls are distinguished by the suffix additions B and C. The socket 85 is shown as having stop bars 86 which, when transferred into the socket 84, provide means for changing the position of the rest of a heel upper section attached thereto. When the stop bars are used in socket 26 of FIGURE 1, the elastic sections 29 would enable the heel section 27 to have a more rearward position of rest.

In place of or in addition to the use of elastic fabric metal or plastic springs may be used for resiliency. For example, the socket 87 shown in FIGURE 14 may be used in the embodiment of the invention illustrated by FIGURES 4 and 5 in place of the socket 41. The socket 87 is of a type similar to the sockets 25, 41, and 42, in FIGURE 14, the slot, attaching flanges, and end wall are distinguished by the suflix additions A, B, and C as in the case of the other sockets. The socket 87 houses a compression spring 88 engageable by the hook 50.

The features herein pertaining to positional variability, slidability, and resilient resistance to rearward Sliding are applicable even though details of construction may vary, and location of attachments to sole or upper may vary in any direction.

FIGURE shows a plan view and FIGURE 16 a sectioned view of a rear sole portion 89 with a front socket 90 and a rear socket 91. The flanges 92 of socket 90 and the flanges 93 of socket 91 are shown each held down by heel tuck 94. FIGURE 17 shows the sole portion 89 with a rear section of upper 95 attached thereto, and the rear part of a cover section 96 with the top layer 97 turned back to disclose the attaching part 98; and FIGURE 18 shows the upper section 95 partially sectioned to disclose a connection 99 between the buckle 100 of attaching part 98 of the cover section 96 and attaching part 101 of the upper section 95. The connection 99 may be elastic or inelastic.

Added thicknesses are shown in rectangular form at 102 and 103 of FIGURES 15 and 17, although the shape may vary and they need not be confined to the particular areas shown. The added thicknesses are preferably strips attached to the sole, portion, although the manner of having added thickness in the area may vary. The purpose of the added thickness is to offset the top bulge created by the flanges 92 and 93, which permits a rocking or instability of the sole portion 104 of upper section 95. Added thickness could also be used in the rear adjacent to flange 105. The added thicknesses may be of resilient material such as foam or sponge rubber or polyurethane foam rising somewhat higher than the bulge resulting from the thickness of the flanges. Thus when pressed down when the rear section of upper is attached to the sole, this pro vides a desirable snugging eifect.

It will be seen in FIGURES 17 and 18 that there is an aperture 106 in sole portion 104 with a forward connecting width 107 between the Side portions 108 and 109' of the sole portion 104 at the forward position where the sole portion 104 tapers thinner. In FIGURES l7 and 18, the ribbon 110 of the attaching part 98 is shown to depress the connecting width at the position in front of the aperture 106. This helps to resist sideways sliding. When the top 97 of the covering part 96 is in place it adds additional firmness against sliding.

Details may vary. For instance, while FIGURE 5 shows the ribbon 60 of the attaching part as attached directly to the rear end of the elastic section, it may also be attached indirectly as by being attached to the covering section rearwardly of the elastic section.

From the foregoing it will be apparent that my invention provides footwear in which heel upper sections may have a range of sliding movement rearwardly from a position of rest with attendant advantages and that the invention also provides for a wide range of adjustments ensuring the full realizations of those advantages.

I claim:

1. An article of footwear including a sole having toe, shank and heel portions, and a section of upper attached to said sole forwardly of the heel area, a heel section of footwear including a section of upper, an attaching ele ment connecting said heel section to said footwear in said heel area, and a section of material attached to said heel section and extending forwardly and being attached to said sole forwardly of the attachment of said forwardly extending section to said heel section, and a device connected to said forwardly extending section for varying the length of said forwardly extending section as measured in an unstretched condition and for thereby varying the position of rest of said heel section relatively to said sole and relatively to said forward attachment in a direction lengthwise of said sole, the lengthwise location of said position of rest being adjustable to correspond to said length of said forwardly extending section.

2. An article of footwear including a sole having toe, shank and heel portions and a section of upper attached to said sole forwardly of the heel area, a heel section of footwear including a section of upper, an attaching element connecting said heel section to said sole in said heel area, and a section of material attached to said heel section and extending forwardly and being attached to said sole forwardly of the attachment of said forwardly extending section to said heel section, and a device connected to said forwardly extending section for varying the length of said forwardly extending section as measured in an unstretched condition and for thereby varying the position of rest of said heel section relatively to said sole and relatively to said forward attachment in a direction lengthwise of said sole, the lengthwise location of said position of rest being adjustable to correspond to said length of said forwardly extending section.

3. An article of footwear including a sole having toe, shank and heel portions, and a section of upper attached to said sole forwardly of the heel area, a heel section of footwear including a section of upper, an attaching element connecting said heel section to said sole in said heel area, and a section of material attached to said heel section and extending forwardly and being attached to said forwardly-attached section of upper, and a device connected to said forwardly extending section for varying the length of said forwardly extending section as measured in an unstretched condition and for thereby varying the position of rest of said heel section relatively to said sole and relatively to said forward attachment in a direction lengthwise of said sole, the lengthwise location of said position of rest being adjustable to correspond to said length of said forwardly extending section.

4. An article of footwear including a sole having toe, shank and heel portions, and a section of upper attached to said sole forwardly of the heel area, a heel section of footwear including a section of upper, an attaching element connecting said heel section to said sole in said heel area, and a section of material attached to said heel section and extending forwardly and being attached to said footwear forwardly of the attachment of said forwardly extending section to said heel section, said forwardly extending section including an elastic section, and the at tached position of rest of said heel section being variable relatively to said sole and relatively to said forward attachment in a direction lengthwise of said sole.

5. An article of footwear including a sole having a toe, shank and heel portions, and a section of upper attached to said sole forwardly of the heel area, a heel section of footwear including a section of upper, an attaching element connecting said heel section to said sole in said heel area, and a section of material attached to said heel section and extending forwardly and being attached to said footwear forwardly of the attachment of said forwardly extending section to said heel section, and a buckle connected to said forwardly extending section for varying the length of said forwardly extending section as measured in an unstretched condition and for thereby varying the position of rest of said heel section relatively to said sole and relatively to said forward attachment in a direction lengthwise of said sole, the lengthwise location of length of said forwardly extending section, material of said forwardly extending section being flexed and being threaded through said buckle.

6. An article of footwear including a sole having toe, shank and heel portions, and a section of upper attached to said sole forwardly of the heel area, a heel section of footwear including a section of upper and a section of ma terial attached to said upper and resting on said sole in said heel area, said material including portions extending on each side of said heel section with an aperture between them, a section of material attached to said heel section and extending forwardly, said forwardly extending section being attached forwardly to said sole and including portions attached to said side portions and connected to each other forwardly of said aperture, a covering layer extending over said section of material and attached to said sole forwardly of said heel area, and a detachable connection between said layer and said sole in said heel area, said connection passing through said aperture between said side portions, said aperture extending from said connection in a direction lengthwise of said sole, an attaching element connecting said heel section to said sole in said heel area, a device connected to said forwardly extending section for varying the length of said forwardly extending section as measured in an unstretched condition and for thereby varying the position of rest of said heel section relatively to said sole and relatively to said forward attachment in a direction lengthwise of said sole, the lengthwise location of said position of rest being adjustable to correspond to said length of said forwardly extending section.

7. An article of footwear including a sole having toe, shank and heel portions, and a section of upper attached to said sole forwardly of the heel area, a cover layer attached to said sole forwardly of said heel area and extending rearwardly into said heel area, said covering layer including an elastic section, a section of material connected to said elastic section and extending rearwardly under a heel portion of said cover layer, a socket depressed in said sole in said heel area, said socket having an elongated slot, said rearwardly extending section being detachably attached through said elongated slot to said socket, and said rearwardly extending section being narrower in the area adjacent to said detachable attachment to said sole than said overlying heel portion of said cover layer and being separated in said adjacent area from said overlying heel portion.

8. An article of footwear including a sole having toe, shank and heel portions, and a section of upper attached to said sole forwardly of the heel area, a cover layer attached to said sole forwardly of said heel area and extending rearwardly into said heel area, said covering layer including an elastic section, a section of material connected to said elastic section and extending rearwardly under a heel portion of said cover layer, a socket depressed in said sole in said heel area, said socket having an elongated slot, said rearwardly extending section being detachably attached through said elongated slot to said socket, said rearwardly extending section being narrower in the area adjacent to said detachable attachment to said sole than said overlying heel portion of said cover layer and being separated in said adjacent area from said overlying heel portion, and a device connected to said rearwardly extending section for varying the length of said rearwardly extending section as measured in an unstretched condition.

9. An article of footwear including a sole having toe, shank and heel portions, and a section of upper attached to said sole forwardly of the heel area, a heel section of footwear including a section of upper, an attaching element connecting said heel section to said sole in said heel area, and a section of material attached to said heel section and extending forwardly and being attached to said footwear forwardly of the attachment of said forwardly extending section to said heel section, and a device connected to said forwardly extending section for varying the length of said forwardly extending section as measured in an unstretched condition and for thereby varying the position of rest of said heel section relatively to said sole and relatively to said forward attachment in a direction lengthwise of said sole, the lengthwise location of said position of rest being adjustable to correspond to said length of said forwardly extending section.

10. An article of footwear including a sole having toe, shank and heel portions, and a section of upper attached to said sole forwardly of the heel area, a heel section of footwear including a section of upper, an attaching element connecting said heel section to said sole in said heel area, and a section of material attached to said heel section and extending forwardly and being attached to said footwear forwardly of the attachment of said forwardly extending section to said heel section, and a device connected to said forwardly extending section for varying the length of said forwardly extending section as measured in an unstretched condition and for thereby varying the position of rest of said heel section relatively to said sole and relatively to said forward attachment in a direction lengthwise of said sole, the lengthwise location of said position of rest being slida-bly adjustable to correspond to said length of said forwardly extending section.

11. A footwear sole having an aperture in the heel area, and a socket depressed in said aperture, said socket having side, top, and front walls, a slot extending in said top wall of said socket and partway down said front wall, said socket opening toward the rear of said sole, said socket having side flanges extending between two layers of said sole, and said front wall extending down into said aperture to a depth lower than the level of said side flanges.

12. An article of footwear including a sole with a section of upper attached thereto forwardly of the heel area, a heel section including a section of upper and a section of material attached to said upper and resting on said sole in said heel area, said sole having an aperture in said heel area, said aperture being spaced from the rear end of said sole, a socket depressed in said aperture and having flanges extending laterally on opposite sides of said socket and under a layer of said heel area, said heel section being detachably attached to said socket, and a resilient layer in the upper part of said sole in an area adjacent to said flanges, said resilient layer providing an extra thickness of material, said extra thickness being greater when not compressed than the thicknes of said flanges, and said extra thickness causing said thickened area to press upward against said section of material.

13. The article of claim 12 in which material of said flanges extending laterally in opposite directions is joined to form a continuous flange.

14. The article of footwear including a sole with a sectionof upper attached thereto forwardly of the heel area, a heel section including a section of upper and a section of material attached to said upper and resting on said sole in said heel area, said sole having an aperture in said heel area, said aperture being spaced from the rear end of said sole, a socket depressed in said aperture, said socket having a slot extending in a direction lengthwise of said sole, said slot being closed at the rear end and open at the front end, said heel section being detachably attached to said socket, and a section of material detachably attached to said sole forwardly of said socket and extending into the lower part of said heel section and opposing forward sliding and sideways twisting of said heel section.

15. An article of footwear including a sole with a section of upper attached thereto forwardly of the heel area, a heel section including a section of upper and a section of material attached to said upper and resting on said sole in said heel area, said sole having an aperture in said heel area, a socket depressed in said aperture and having a slot extending in a direction lengthwise of said sole, said heel section being detachably attached to said socket, said socket having flanges extending laterally on opposite sides under a layer of said sole, and said sole including in the area adjacent to said flanges an extra thickness of material raising up on the top of said areas to offset the thickness of said flanges.

16. The article of claim 15 in which the flanged material extending laterally in opposite directions is continuous to form a single flange.

17. An article of footwear including a sole with a section of upper attached thereto forwardly of the heel area, a socket depressed in said sole in said heel area, said socket having a slot with a rearward closed end and a forward entrance opening in said heel area, a heel section including a section of upper and a section of material attached to said upper and resting on said sole in said heel area, said heel section attached to said socket, and a section of material attached to said sole forwardly of said socket and extending into the lower part of said heel section and opposing the sliding of said heel section out of its position of attachment to said socket, said opposing section of material being removable from its opposing position.

18. An article of footwear including a sole with a section of upper attached thereto forwardly of the heel area, a socket depressed in said sole in said heel area, said socket having a slot with a rearward closed end and a forward entrance opening in said heel area, a heel section including a section of upper and a section of material attached to said upper and resting on said sole in said heel area, said heel section being detachably attached to said socket, and a section of material attached to said sole forwardly of said socket and extending into the lower part of said heel section and opposing the sliding of said heel section in at least one direction, said opposing section of material being removable from its opposing position.

19. The article of claim 18 in which the sliding opposed is forward sliding.

20. The article of claim posed is sideways turning.

21. An article of footwear including a sole with a sec tion of upper attached thereto forwardly of the heel area, a socket depressed in said sole in said heel area, said socket having a slot with a rearward closed end and a forward entrance opening in said heel area, a heel section including a section of upper and a section of material attached to said upper and resting on said sole in said heel area, said heel section being detachably attached to said socket, and a section of material connected with said sole and in contact with a part of said heel section and opposing the sliding of said heel section out of its position of attachment to said socket, said opposing section of material being removable from its opposing position.

22. An article of footwear including a sole with a section of upper attached thereto forwardly of the heel area, a socket depressed in said sole in said heel area, said socket having a slot with a rearward closed end and a forward entrance, a heel section including a section of upper and a section of material attached to said upper and resting on said sole in said heel area, said heel section being detachably attached to said socket, said section of upper extending around the rear of said heel section, and a part rising above said sole. and having a connection with said sole separately from said heel section, said heel section having portions on each side of said part rising higher than a portion of said part, and said part in corrjunction with said higher portions of said heel section opposing sideways turning of said heel section.

23. An article of footwear including a sole with a section of upper attached thereto forwardly of the heel area, a socket depressed in said sole in said heel area, said socket having a slot with a rearward closed end and a forward entrance, a heel section including a section of upper and a section of material attached to said upper and resting on said sole in said heel area, said heel section being detachably attached to said socket, and a section of material attached to said sole forwardly or said socket and extending into the area of said heel section and opposing the sliding of said heel section out of its position of attachment to said socket, said oppsing section of material being removable from its opposing position.

24. The article of claim 14 in which the forward slid- 18 in which the sliding oping opposed is the sliding necessary to release said heel section from its attachment to said socket.

25. An article of footwear including a sole with a section of upper attached thereto forwardly of the heel area, a heel section including a section of upper and a section of material attached to said upper and resting on said sole in said heel area, said sole having an aperture in said heel area, said aperture being spaced from the rear end of sail sole, a socket depressed in said aperture, said socket having a slot extending in a direction lengthwise of said slot, said slot being closed at the rear end and open at the front end, said heel section being detachably attached to said socket, and a section of material attached to said sole forwardly of said socket and extending into the lower part of said heel section and opposing forward sliding and sideways twisting of said heel section, said extending section of material being removable from its opposing position.

26. The article of claim 17 in which the forward sliding opposed is the sliding necessary to release said heel section from its attachment to said socket.

27. The article of claim 21 in which the forward sliding opposed is the sliding necessary to release said heel section from its attachment to said socket.

28. An article of footwear including a sole with a section of upper attached thereto forwardly of the heel area, a socket depressed in said sole in said heel area, a heel section including a section of upper and a section of material attached to said upper and resting on said sole in said heel area, said heel section being detachably attached to said socket, and a part rising above said sole and having a connection with said sole separately from said heel section, said heel section having portions on each side of said part rising higher than a portion of said part, and said part in conjunction with said higher portions of said heel section opposing sideways turning of said heel section.

29. An article of footwear including a sole with a section of upper attached thereto forwardly of the heel area, a socket in said sole in said heel area, said socket having a slot with a rearward closed end and a forward entrance, a heel section including a section of upper and a section of material attached to said upper and resting on said sole in said heel area, said section of upper extending around the rear of said heel section, said heel section being detachably attached to said socket and being removable from its attachment to said sole independently of said attachment of said forward section of upper to said sole, and a part connected with said heel section, said sole-connected part opposing sideways turning of said heel section.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,907,997 5/ 1933 Nickerson 36-44 X 2,207,306 7/ 1940 Taaler. 2,844,391 7/1958 Meltzer. 2,897,612 8/1959 Meltzer 3658.5

FOREIGN PATENTS 870,875 6/ 1961 Great Britain.

PATRICK D. LAWSON, Primary Examiner.

US. Cl. X.R. 365 8.5 

